Over 1000 Christmas Bird Counts are held annually across North America as part of a continent-wide, citizen-science effort to ascertain the annual distribution and fluctuation in numbers of North American birds. The National Audubon Society publishes the results that assess the distribution and population of wintering birds.

The 2016 Morro Coast Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count will be held on Saturday, December 17th, dawn to dusk, rain or shine! It will be followed as usual with our compilation potluck party that night at 6 PM at SLO Botanical Garden Pavilion. The count is conducted within a circle, 15 miles in diameter, that is centered at the intersection of Turri Road and Los Osos Valley Road (MORRO BAY CBC SECTOR MAP). The circle is divided into Sectors.

Many counters are needed to achieve a good count and maintain MCAS's high and nationally-accredited ranking. Our success in the National Ranking has been the result of having lots of people in the field sighting and counting birds within the circle. Only species and numbers of birds seen within this circle and its sectors may be counted.

As in the past few years, there is no fee to participate in the CBC. However, you must register in order to participate and all skill levels are welcome. You are asked to register by November 26th (EXTENDED to December 13th) so that the Sectors can be organized in order to provide thorough coverage of the entire circle. After you register, your Sector Leader will contact you in early December.

Audubon members everywhere . . . THANK YOU!

Please realize that you are part of an important team. We seek specific data on the diversity and population of the birds in our Count Circle. Your efforts are being directed by a group that is responsible for the consistency and quality of the data produced. If there is a Sector that you would like to explore but you were not assigned to it for this CBC, please plan on birding there after the CBC is completed. We rely on your utmost attention to all you hear and see during the survey in the Sector to which you have been assigned.

NOTE: The Carrizo Plain CBC is a separate event that is coordinated independently by Roger Zachary. The 2016 Carrizo Plain CBC will be on Saturday, December 31st. Go to Carrizo Plain CBC for more information.

HOW TO REGISTER:

Step 1. Choose your Sector(s)

First, open the MORRO BAY CBC SECTOR MAP. You can click on any Sector in the count circle to view a description and a detailed map of that Sector. If you prefer, you may download a document (format of your choice) that contains a reference map and a description of each sector (.pdf) (.docx) (Google Earth .kml). When you register you will be asked to enter three sectors in which you would like to count birds. We will do our best to assign you to one of your choices.

Step 2. Register Online or by U.S. Mail 2016 Registration is CLOSED.

Step 3. Download supplemental CBC info

Once you have registered, go HERE to download checklists, maps, GPS info, and other files that you may need on count day.